Russian military ramps up flights near Western airspace
Source: CNN
Washington (CNN) -- Russia unexpectedly flew military aircraft into the Baltic Sea region on both Saturday and Sunday, in an action closely monitored by U.S. and NATO intelligence, a U.S. official confirmed to CNN.
About a dozen Russian aircraft including bombers, and refueling aircraft flew off Kaliningrad in the Baltic Sea on Saturday. NATO aircraft as well as aircraft from Sweden and Finland monitored the Russian flights, the official said.
Then on Sunday, the Russians again flew about a dozen aircraft including bombers and transport planes on the same route. The U.S. official noted there have been similar large flights in the past, but it's not been seen in this manner over a two day period. The U.S. and NATO are still assessing what message Moscow may be trying to send, but overall "it's a Putin show of force," the US official said.
"This was a large incursion," said Col. Steven Warren, Pentagon spokesman. The Russian aircraft remained in international airspace but did enter an aircraft identification zone at one point.
Continued at Link:
Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2014/12/08/politics/russian-flights-near-nato/?cid=ob_articlesidebarall&iref=obinsite
= new reply since forum marked as read
Kaliningrad is that part of what was East Prussia prior to WWII that was turned over to Russia at the end of WWII. Most of East Prussia ended up in Poland, but Kaliningrad ended up as part of Russia but cut off from the rest of Russia by Lithuania and Poland. Thus to go from Kaliningrad to any other part of Russia requires planes to fly over Lithuania, Poland OR the Baltic. These planes flew over the Baltic. It is international Air Space so they had the RIGHT to fly in that area.
What could it mean? It could just be just to see if the Russians themselves could keep this number of plants flying at once. i.e NOTHING to do with the west. It could be the Russian trying to see if they could reinforce Kaliningrad if Poland and Lithuania cut off land access (Given Transports were involved, this would be my first "guess" not that Russia planning to use Kaliningrad to attack the "West"
.
I notice no report of where the planes flew to, i.e. to St Petersburgh or back to Kaliningrad? If that was the case there really was no "Incursion" unless you think the Baltic is a NATO Lake.
NOte on day one of the "Incursion" the Russians sent bombers and in flight refueling planes, but on day two it was Bombers and transport planes.
Now, the actual article mentioned an "incursion" into the North Sea, which means the plane flew from Murmansk around Norway to the North Sea, then all but two Tu-95 Bear Bombers turned back. The Bear Bombers flew in International Air Space to Portugal and turned around (The Bear can do that, it is has longest range of any plane in the world without in flight refueling).
Such a maneuver would have nothing to do with Kaliningrad but shows Russia has the ability to disrupt the Atlantic Trade Route if NATO did anything stupid. The planes that turned back as they flew pass Norway was to escort the Bear Bombers by that choke point. Once through that choke point the Bear Bombers where on their own. In a NATO-RUSSIAN conflict such a maneuver would disrupt American movement of Troops and Supplies to support NATO.
Thus the maneuver into the Atlantic sounds like a response to US comments as to the Ukraine. Russia may NOT be able to stop US troops from going to Europe, but they have the capacity to at least try.
